NORFOLK, Va. (WAVY) — City council received a report from the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) Tuesday night on the massive Hampton Roads Bridge-Tunnel expansion project.

The report gave an update on the progress of the $3.8-billion VDOT project.

HRBT Expansion Project

Now, the project is advancing conceptual designs, which is expected to take until December 2020.

In the meantime, VDOT is releasing information about its plans to mitigate traffic impacts during construction, as well as the overall project timeline.

The main goal of the HRBT project is to widen the facility and alleviate constant congestion.

VDOT will expand both the north and south island to accommodate the wider lanes. The expansion is expected to take five years to finish.

  • Map of HRBT Expansion | Courtesy of VDOT
  • HRBT Timeline | Courtesy of VDOT

A boring machine will be used to create the second-largest tunnel opening in North America, making it the largest and most complicated project of its kind in Virginia history.

Tunnel Boring Machine in North America | Courtesy of VDOT

So who’s funding it? According to VDOT, the Hampton Roads Transportation Fund will foot 95% of the bill, which comes from the regional gas and sales tax. The rest will come from a collection of:

  • $108 million from the Virginia Department of Transportation
  • $200 million from the Commonwealth’s SMART SCALE program

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